Wife is making grumblings about new vehicle....

[Haakon]

Everything has limits, including cars.
WHen I was talking about X5, I was talking about actual handling, not electronically assisted stuff.
My wife's Tiguan, 2011, one that has stiff, typical VW suspension, is an absolute blast to drive, and I will take that CUV to track against many cars. So, it is possible to make SUVs handle well, the same as it is possible to make cars handle like crap.
What I am talking about when it comes to the current Tiguan in the US is that it is tuned differently, not because of inherent weaknesses of SUV type of vehicle, but because. VW made that choice.

I understood what you meant, but in handling I include how it behaves on the limit. I don't just mean the limit from driving like a maniac, I mean when the kid on a bike runs out in front or swerving to avoid a kangaroo at highway speeds. An X5 will never be as safe as a 5 series in this regard - it will not stop as quickly, it wont turn as well, and is obviously more likely to roll over.

The modern ones present as "normal" (if you ignore the nauseating sideways rock they all do...), and you usually only find out the hard way they have far lower limits to their handling when **** gets real - which is exactly where you really really need good handling and roadholding!

I understood your point re the US spec VW - my point was that softening up the suspension to make soft US bums happy simply unmasks the inherent physics problems involved in making a car very heavy and top heavy.

 

[AZjeff]

@Haakon, your disdain for suv/cuvs is obvious but considering passenger cars are 20% of sales, suvs and trucks the rest in the US most people don’t share your views and buy what they think is best for them. Lots of dumb people out there myself included.

I’ll bet 99/100 people are just going to stand on the brakes in an emergency negating the handling argument.

 

[Haakon]

@Haakon, your disdain for suv/cuvs is obvious but considering passenger cars are 20% of sales, suvs and trucks the rest in the US most people don’t share your views and buy what they think is best for them. Lots of dumb people out there myself included.

Meh. Not dumb, just not necessary possessing a solid understanding of engineering, physics and the power of automotive manufacturers advertising

Most people are not car people, and like any other consumer product just buy what's "fashionable" and what the advertisers tell them to buy. Nothing new there and its certainly not confined to cars!

 

[AZjeff]

Don't need a solid understanding of engineering and physics to know I much prefer the seating position of suvs over automobiles, the easier ingress/egress and the better view of the road and traffic ahead of me.

 

[Haakon]

Don't need a solid understanding of engineering and physics to know I much prefer the seating position of suvs over automobiles, the easier ingress/egress and the better view of the road and traffic ahead of me.

Better view of the road at the expense of normal car users… And that self centred arms race is pointless anyway now you all drive the bloody things!

And sadly the easy ingress doesn’t make extracting your corpse from the rolled over wreck any easier…

 

[Pew]

Better view of the road at the expense of normal car users… And that self centred arms race is pointless anyway now you all drive the bloody things!

And sadly the easy ingress doesn’t make extracting your corpse from the rolled over wreck any easier…

Sounds like a you problem.

 

[Cujet]

Perform an honest and accurate cost per mile assessment. A well purchased new vehicle of the same class (compact SUV, for example) is often no more than 5c per mile more. Caveat: It must be kept for it's reasonable lifespan. Introducing early trade in value, brings about some unpredictability.

I make no secret about it, I love sports cars, but I drive Trucks. Mostly for the utility and safety. Saved my life and my wife's life a month ago with a dump truck altercation/unlicensed driver.... She was injured, I was not. Neither of us would be here if it was a car. No joke.

I may replace my F150 with an F250.

 

[Haakon]

Sounds like a you problem.

And thats a lovely example of the attitude that led us to where we are... Nice one

 

[Pew]

And thats a lovely example of the attitude that led us to where we are... Nice one

Why are you so worried about what people do with their money? Are you making it for them? Is people buying SUVs in USA affecting you that much across the globe?

 

[Triple_Se7en]

She is telling me how much she like the daughter's Tiguan. Now that I am retired I am not sure I want to dump $35K on a new car. Her van has near 100k miles, my car has 60K miles and our go to the dump pickup has in the 80's. They all run well without issues. Knock on wood. I suppose my question is: Besides the Tiguan, what other compact SUV's are recommended by the folks here? With reading about the better life of CVT's nowadays they can be included. It will be her vehicle and she will probably be oblivious to it anyways. So, best quality, longest lasting, best performance, fit and finish, warranty.....everything that should be considered is in the mix. Oil burners are out,(i'm not talking about diesels), 100k mile head replacements are out too. So what say y'all?

2024 rating and nearly the same size as the Tiguan. Prices should be under $35k you mentioned.
Toyota RAV-4 (#3 best selling vehicle on earth
Honda CRV - (#5 best selling vehicle on earth

Tiguan is not in the top-20. No VW in the top-20.
If the wife sticks to driving the Van and you own six vehicles, then you don't really have much of a winning fight in this possible upcoming war. Plus, it's possible she wants to remove herself from her soccer mom van and drive a more technically advanced machine that's easier to manuever and better on gas..

 

[AZjeff]

And that self centred arms race is pointless anyway now you all drive the bloody things!

48% of sales in US are SUVs. Apparently 55.8% of sales in your country are SUVs. Reform your own people then save us.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

. duplicate

 

[Haakon]

Why are you so worried about what people do with their money? Are you making it for them? Is people buying SUVs in USA affecting you that much across the globe?

It’s the same situation here, all the same silly arguments for these things. We are even starting to get the really dumb stuff like Rams and Silverados

And I care because we are all affected by their contribution to the rising road toll and consumption of resources… And the general pita they are to share public spaces with!

 

[02SE]

It's times like this, I'm happy we own vehicles that are certain to offend someone...

The incredible handling sportscar which goes and stops better than most other road legal vehicles, will offend the 'practical' crowd.
The fancy AWD SUV with way too much power will offend those who hate such things. Especially since it's German...
The slow 4wd SUV will offend people that don't like heavy, softly suspended vehicles. Especially if it's Japanese.
The Dually will offend lots of people, based on some of the comments I've heard from simpleton busy-bodies.
The sportscoupe with it's high-winding engine and mellifluous exhaust note seems to offend people, who don't like others enjoying life.
The Sportbikes will offend those who consider them too dangerous for the general public.
The dirtbikes I'm sure offend someone too.
I almost forgot the 4 cylinder automatic sedans. They're basic transporation. I inherited them. They're old, but look and drive like new. I'm sure someone could find a reason to hate them...

The wife and I are proud to offend daily.

 

[AZjeff]

You should be proud to give so much to so many.

 

[Pew]

It’s the same situation here, all the same silly arguments for these things. We are even starting to get the really dumb stuff like Rams and Silverados

And I care because we are all affected by their contribution to the rising road toll and consumption of resources… And the general pita they are to share public spaces with!

You care because you're miserable and want to act like a Karen in other people's business.

Edit: sorry the above read way more malicious than I thought. I've seen Australians astonished at the size of a RAM pickup. We've dealt with it just *fine* for the most part. From what I've seen, Australia looks like they have wider road designs like us and are not constrained to narrow roads.

 

[zzyzzx]

If the wife sticks to driving the Van and you own six vehicles, then you don't really have much of a winning fight in this possible upcoming war. Plus, it's possible she wants to remove herself from her soccer mom van and drive a more technically advanced machine that's easier to manuever and better on gas..

I also question why someone retired would have so many vehicles.

 

[Tdbo]

I also question why someone retired would have so many vehicles.

Because he can?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

American Tiguan and Atlas are tuned for the US market.
Atlas is a perfect example of why Germans should NEVER try to build soft suspension. They should stick to idea of maximizing handling performance.
The biggest complaint among Atlas owners is that the suspension is too soft. I will admit that once loaded, it is exceptionally compliant. But empty, it floats way too much. So, don't think Tiguan for the US market handles better than Mazda CX-5.

Funny thing. My Jetta floated so much I actually bottomed out all four corners on the interstate (I-93 Boston) at speed. Almost lost control. I would think that could only happen on a 90's Buick Roadmaster land yacht! BTW, I was the only one in the car and was carrying no luggage.

Later after leasing the car I saw this same complaint during a KBB vehicle test. (2019 VW Jetta S "More Corolla than Corolla, Sorry Corolla")

Dangerously underdamped actually. See the video (below) at 24 seconds in:

 

[Urshurak776]

My Wife absolutely loves her 2024 Mazda CX-5. Worth a test drive for sure.